Mayank Joshi, son of Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Allahabad, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, is likely to join the Samajwadi Party.
The SP may field him as its candidate from Lucknow Cantonment assembly constituency.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi has been publicly lobbying for a BJP ticket for her son Mayank Joshi. Earlier this month, she had sent a proposal to BJP chief JP Nadda, saying she was ready to step down as MP from Allahabad if Mayank was given the BJP ticket for Lucknow Cantonment seat.
Sources in SP confirmed that Rita Bahuguna Joshi was in touch with the party leadership.
BJP sources said the ruling party was all set to deny a ticket to Mayank from Lucknow Cantonment while SP sources said the party was waiting for the BJP to declare candidates for the nine assembly constituencies in Lucknow district before announcing its list.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi had won the 2017 assembly elections from Lucknow Cantonment. In 2019 she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Allahabad. In the by-election to Lucknow Cantonment assembly seat, Suresh Tiwari of BJP was elected to the assembly. With Aparna Yadav joining the BJP, speculations are rife that she might be fielded from Lucknow Cantonment as she had polled around 60,000 votes from the constituency on a SP ticket in 2017 elections.
The incumbent MLA from Lucknow Cantonment, Suresh Tiwari is optimistic about his chance to get the nomination.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi had cited her son's work in Lucknow Cantonment while seeking a ticket for her son from this constituency. “Mayank has been doing a lot of ground work in the assembly constituency and is quite popular among all sections of society, especially the youths. The seat is so dear to me as well,” she said.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the daughter of former UP chief minister Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, began her political career with the SP but joined the Congress in 1992. She lost from Lucknow Cantonment while with the Congress. She joined the BJP in 2016 and won from Lucknow Cantonment in 2017, defeating Aparna Yadav, who was SP candidate. Rita Bahuguna Joshi served as a cabinet minister in the Yogi Adityanath government. She resigned after winning the Lok Sabha election from Allahabad in 2019.
